"Safe antagonist who's really a protagonist" - EC3 highlights major issues with current AEW star's heel persona (Exclusive)
EC3 (Ethan Carter III) recently gave his honest opinion on the heel persona of AEW star Adam Cole as he highlighted some of its major issues.
Despite being a villain, Cole has remained highly popular among wrestling fans due to his innate charisma. One glaring aspect of his presentation is where he shouts "Boom" and "Adam Cole Bay Bay," with almost an entire arena joining him.
In an episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, EC3 suggested Cole didn't have a violent side to him to generate heat from the audience. He further noted that the AEW star was more of a face than a heel.
"There's no, I think a vicious, sadistic of being able to make people legitimately dislike you. It's hard to get everybody too because if you even go that far, people are gonna like 'Dude, I've really think he's a great heel. Look what he's doing, he's literally making people mad.' But he's [Adam Cole] a safe (...) he's a very talented and safe antagonist who's really a protagonist in my mind," EC3 pointed out. [2:10 - 2:34]
Check out the video here:
Former WWE writer Vince Russo seconded EC3's thoughts on Cole's moniker. The latter put the AEW star in the "Johnny Gargano category" of heels who seemingly weren't credible enough in the eyes of a casual fan.
EC3 further emphasized that AEW star Adam Cole is more of a face
Adam Cole and EC3 (Ethan Carter III) faced each other many times during their NXT stint. The wrestling promoter also feuded with Cole's Undisputed Era faction (Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong).
Speaking about his experience working with Cole on the same episode, EC3 noted that The Panama City Playboy is a natural face.
"The dude's [Adam Cole] a babyface. If he was hanging out with you, you'll be like 'Man that guy rocks!' (...) We did this one match, in you know, the height of his NXT run as a heel, and I am jacked up 5-move of doom babyface in a smart mark town. We just, we didn't have 'em at first, but we were able to get them because he was able to play along with what I was able to do, and I was able to play along with what he did."
He further detailed his on-screen rivalry with the former NXT Champion:
"We actually turned, you know, what would be a very pro-Adam Cole crowd against him. So kudos to him on that because dude is a babyface," EC3 added.
Impromptu match to kick us off! EC3 vs Adam Cole! #NXTFullSail #NXTFSLive https://t.co/Zd9dgiEdq6
It will be interesting to see if Cole will introduce a new side to his persona once he makes his AEW return. He's currently sidelined with a concussion, and there's apparently no timeline for his potential comeback.
What are your thoughts on AEW star Adam Cole's on-screen character? Sound off in the comments section below.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the YouTube video when using quotes from this article.